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Felixstowe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Felixstowe | |
  Felixstowe shown within Suffolk |
|
| Population | 29,349 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Suffolk Coastal |
| Shire county | Suffolk |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FELIXSTOWE |
| Postcode district | IP11 |
| Dialling code | 01394 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Suffolk Coastal |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Suffolk | |
For the Aircraft manufacturer, see Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a North Sea seaport in Suffolk, England. It has the largest container port in the United Kingdom and one of the Haven ports. Situated across the estuary of the River Orwell and River Stour from Harwich in Essex.
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A village has stood on the site since before the Norman conquest, eventually becoming a linchpin in England's defence, as proved when in 1667 Dutch soldiers landed and failed to capture "Landguard Fort". The town only became a major port in 1886. In addition to shipping, tourism increased, and a pier was constructed in 1905 but is soon to be demolished. Indeed, during the late Victorian period (after circa 1880) it became a fashionable resort, a trend initiated by the opening of Felixstowe railway station, the pier, (see above) and a visit by the then German imperial family. It remained so until the late 1930s. In 1953, 38 died in the town in the North Sea flood.
A museum telling the story of Felixstowe, with a reference library, historic maps, photo archive and 14 rooms of artefacts from Roman finds, the Martello Towers, military social and domestic history through two world wars and into the new Millennium is managed by volunteers from the Felixstowe History and Museum Society. It is located in the old submarine mining establishment building at Landguard Point, between the Fort and Port and is open on Sundays, Bank Holidays and Wednesdays during the summer.
During the Second World War the majority of the pier, at the time one of the longest in the country and complete with its own train, was purposely demolished by Royal Engineers to prevent it being used as an easy landing point for enemy troops. Unfortunately after the war the damage was never repaired and the pier never regained its original length. Felixstowe was also one of the few places bombed by the Italians during the Blitz. Mussolini's airforce proved to be no match for the RAF, who shot down a fair number of Italian biplanes over the channel and around Felixstowe itself - one of the few pictures of a shot-down Italian plane over the UK being from here.
By the late 1990s the pier had been neglected so badly that it was deemed to be unsafe and closed to the public. Ambitious plans have been presented from time to time since the closure of the pier for its redevelopment along with large disused areas of the seafront near the former site of the Felixstowe Beach railway station, but as yet nothing has come of them.
The beach railway station itself was demolished in 2004 despite a storm of protest from many local people keen on saving the 137 year-old historical building which the council had branded as 'unsafe'. The station was originally opened in 1877 and was used continuously until 1959, after which it was the site of a small printers for many years until its demolition.[1]
Felixstowe also had a third station, Felixstowe Pier, which was actually sited inside the area of the modern day docks at a small pier popular with pleasure boats. This station was the first to close in 1951. The only remaining station, previously known as Felixstowe Town, opened in 1898 in the well-preserved building which now houses a Solar supermarket. In its prime the station saw more than 20 services an hour, but now hosts only one (the service to Ipswich) on its single remaining platform, which has been created from the far end of one of the original platforms.
Felixstowe is twinned with the German towns Wesel and Salzwedel. It is administered by Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council, and Felixstowe Town Council.
There is a nature reserve and bird observatory at Landguard Fort and a Golf Club which is amongst the oldest in the UK, having been established in 1881. The Rt. Hon. Arthur Balfour Captain of the Golf Club in 1889, became Captain of the R&A in 1894 and British Prime Minister from 1902-1908.
The town has the Spa Pavilion theatre, a 900 seat art deco-tyle building on the promenade, now managed by a private contractor, (Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Led Zeppelin and Showaddywaddy all played there), and a Sunday market that is larger than the one at nearby Ipswich.
Felixstowe has a pebbly beach extending from the port at Landguard Fort to Felixstowe Ferry, an old fishing hamlet on the River Deben. A promenade runs along part of the beach, from the nature reserve in the south-west to Cobbolds Point (Maybush Lane in east), with traditional beach huts along most of that length. An amusement arcade with snooker halls and food outlets dominate the southern end. The pier, now disused except for a cafe and amusement arcade, stands before a leisure centre, with swimming pool, owned by the local council, now managed by a contractor.
From Cobbolds Point to Felixstowe Ferry there is a walkway and path, alongside beach huts and the golf course - except for the first 100 yards at Cobbolds Point where coastal protection work now prevents pedestrian access. At low tide from this walkway it is possible to glimpse the seaweed-covered remains of a Roman fort in the water about 50m from the coast.
The town has a sports centre, The Brackenbury, in High Road East, and football, hockey and rugby pitches, together with two bowling greens and other sporting facilities. The sports centre, owned by the council, is managed by a contractor.
The town has few leisure facilities. Local associations have no meeting places, except for a small community centre in Old Felixstowe (Ferry Road), and most rely upon church halls.
The library was refurbished in 2006 at a cost of £1,500,000 and has since won national awards.[2]
Suffolk Coastal District Council are the local authority, and are based in Woodbridge, with no direct presence in the town. The local parish council, Felixstowe Town Council, is based in the Town Hall, on the seafront at Undercliff Road West.
Felixstowe is one of Britain's top three ports (along with Southampton and Tilbury), dealing with 35% of container cargo, and is Europe's fourth busiest, after Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp. In 2002 it was ranked 20th in the world. It is capable of handling over 3.7 million containers per year. As well as containerised traffic, the port also has a RO-RO terminal.
The main navigation channel is dredged to 14.5 metres below Chart Datum, and a depth of up to 15 metres alongside the quay, Felixstowe boasts deep-water able to accommodate the world’s latest generation of deep-draughted ultra post-Panamax vessels. There is a continuous quay of over 2.3km, equipped with 25 ship-to shore gantry cranes.
It has good road links to the Midlands via the A14 and to London via the A12 road. The single-track railway line to Ipswich has recently been upgraded to allow larger containers, and many containers are now transported by rail.
The port is owned by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd[3] but much of the land on which it sits is owned by Trinity College, Cambridge.
The port has its own Police Force.
The Felixstowe Rugby Club plays in the Suffolk Merit League and the Felixstowe and Walton FC (the Seasiders) play at Dellwood Avenue on Saturdays.
On Sundays Felixstowe Harpers have three teams playing at Trimley Sports Club and Dellwood Avenue.
Famous people originating from or associated with Felixstowe include:
- Actor John Mills
- Wallis, The Duchess of Windsor - Mrs Simpson, who spent time at Felixstowe waiting for Edward VIII's abdication.
- Economist & writer Barbara Ward - Barbara Ward was a pupil of the Jesus & Mary Convent in Felixstowe